LONDON -- Top-ranked Rafael Nadal made a winning return at the ATP World Tour Finals as he breezed past fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2 in his first round-robin match on Tuesday. James Neal Jersey . Playing for the first time in two years at the season-ending tournament, Nadal traded breaks early but then became untouchable on serve, dictating the play from the baseline and forcing third-ranked Ferrer into a stack of errors. Nadal converted six of seven break points. He claimed his 21st win in 26 matches against Ferrer -- but only his first indoors -- and avenged his loss in their Paris Masters semifinal last week. "He played a lot better than me in Paris but today I played a little bit better than him and its important for my confidence to start with a victory after Paris," Nadal said "There is no rest but the energy of this stadium is fantastic." Nadal and Ferrer play in Group A, alongside Stanislas Wawrinka, who beat Tomas Berdych in his opening match on Monday. No. 2 Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, playing late Tuesday, are in Group B with Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet. Nadal is bidding to win the elite event for the first time. He will be guaranteed of the year-end No. 1 spot if he wins a second match at O2 Arena. He broke Ferrer in the first game with a forehand winner down the line but Ferrer broke back immediately, and spectators braced themselves for a hard-fought contest. But Nadal, who did not play last year because of his bad knee, then dropped only one point on his next three service games while Ferrer gave easy points and struggled to keep the ball in the court. Nadal broke again for 3-2 and earned three set points with a brilliant forehand passing shot down the line before sealing the set when Ferrer made another unforced error to drop his serve at love. Nadal then built a 5-0 lead but Ferrer refused to surrender easily, and mounted a comeback playing more aggressively and taking chances at the net. He broke Nadal before dropping his serve after sending a backhand wide and burying a forehand in the net. Jon Merrill Jersey . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury. Nate Schmidt Jersey .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. https://www.cheapgoldenknights.com/566n-chandler-stephenson-jersey-golden-knights.html .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have activated defenceman Joni Pitkanen from injured reserve.The Oakland As continue to rule the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings, taking top spot for the fourth consecutive week, ahead of the Milwaukee Brewer and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, both up one spot. Despite injuries to their pitching staff, the As keep rolling and lead a powerhouse American League West that has three of the top six teams. The Seattle Mariners make the Gillette Move of the Week, up from 12 to six, after winning seven of their last nine games. Pitching has kept the Mariners in the playoff hunt and their 3.26 staff ERA ranks second in the American League, behind only the As. Four straight wins pushes the Minnesota Twins from 23 tto 17, and winning four of five results in the New York Mets rising, from 26 to 21. Nicolas Hague Jersey. Heading the other way, the Toronto Blue Jays are slumping and have lost second baseman Brett Lawrie to a broken hand, so they slide from two to nine. The Atlanta Braves, home of the slumping Uptons, are down from seven to 15, and the reeling Texas Rangers have crashed from 17 to 26, as injuries decimate a pitching staff that was questionable to begin with. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '